The present invention relates to exercise machines, particularly exercise machines for use by a person having little or no leg muscle control. A wheelchair-bound person should exercise the upper body. Passive movement of such a person's legs is beneficial in that the movement helps muscle tone and the circulatory system.
Various exercise devices have been disclosed for these purposes. U.S. Pat. No. 2,772,881 to Fundom provides an exercise device for elderly and handicapped persons. The Fundom device provides a pair of pedals that can slide along a base, much like cross-country skiing. The Fundom device includes arms that are mechanically connected to the pedals so that the force provided by arm muscles can assist leg muscles in sliding a pedal along a base. Users of the Fundom device are seated at the machine.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,645,200 to Hix provides an exercise device for elderly and handicapped persons having J-shaped pedal bars pivotally mounted to a frame. Like the Fundom device, a user of the Hix device is seated. The pedal bars terminate in foot pedals extending perpendicularly outwardly from the pedal bars and move in a substantially linear back-and-forth type motion. The J-shaped bars have a cord fastened to them which is engaged with a pulley so that the bars provide an opposing to-and-fro motion. Pedals are attached to a lower end of the J-shaped bars and follow the to-and-fro motion. A seated user places his or her feet on the pedals and hands on handles located on upper ends of the J-shaped bars. Force exerted by a single foot or hand provides movement of the other extremities.
A second Hix patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,954, describes a jointed bicycle-simulation device for isometric exercise. This device is said to be for use by convalescing and handicapped persons, also, and has foot pedals and hand grips which all swing in an orderly fashion so as to not place undue strain on the user's joints. The lower end of a first upwardly inclined leg-activated bar is pivotally connected to the lower end of a first upwardly inclined arm-activated bar. Adjacent these bars, second leg-activated and arm-activated activated bars are identically coupled. The two pivot points of the bar are attached to opposed ends of an elastomeric band which is engaged with a pulley. A rod can be inserted into the pulley to provide a resistance to movement of the bars, while with the rod removed from the pulley, the pulley is allowed to rotate relatively freely.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,960,276 to Feuer, et al. describes a cross country ski exercise apparatus which includes a platform on which right and left foot engaging supports are disposed for reciprocal sliding movement with right and left hand engaging members being operatively connected to the foot engaging supports to reciprocate in a pattern simulating cross country skiing. The Feuer, et al. device provides a pair of identical hand-engaging members in the form of simulated ski poles disposed for reciprocating movement in linear slots.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,442 to Dalebout, et al. describes a cross country ski exerciser having an upright member and an extension member which are structured to move between a first upright configuration and a second configuration in which they are collapsed. The main member is positioned substantially between the parallel tracks of the cross country ski exercise machine.
The rehabilitation exercise machine of the present invention was developed for the purposes of exercising or rehabilitating paraplegic individuals or any person with some kind of standing impairment. There are several unique characteristics of this rehabilitation exerciser machine which include parallel bars, a belly bar, poles that move the legs using muscular effort exerted by the arms and upper body, U-shaped (concave downward) troughs in which foot plates slide enabling less height of the foot plates and easier access by the user, and the capability of alternatively placing the machine in water such as a shallow portion of a swimming pool to take advantage of buoyancy and water resistance to movement. In this embodiment, the exerciser and its appurtenances may be configured with baffles and fins to replace the tension pulleys and cable that provide resistance in the "dry" version of the exerciser. On information and belief, no exerciser of this kind is presently available that assists a person with such impairments to stand independently and exercise his or her arms, hips, and legs simultaneously either in or out of the water.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an exerciser which enables a mostly wheelchair bound person to independently mount the exerciser by using the adjustable parallel bars which can be alternatively configured with flared or widened ends to facilitate access. The person can grasp the bars and pull himself up to a standing position. Once in a standing position the person uses the parallel bars to aid himself in setting his legs onto the foot plates.
By grasping and holding onto the arm poles and pushing them back and forth, he is now able to start exercising his total body. By stabilizing the mid section of the person, by having arm poles that move the person's legs back and forth, and with the development of mounted parallel bars, the rehabilitation exerciser machine of the present invention is easy to use independently and is believed uniquely set apart from any other of its kind.
The foot plates may be detachable from the operating positions used in actual exercise and moved to the rear of the exerciser to facilitate easier access by the user. After engaging the foot plates or alternatively moving forward on the hand rails and then placing his feet in the foot plates, the user then stabilizes himself by holding onto the parallel bar with one hand while wrapping his mid section to the belly bar with a hook and pile belly belt.
Alternatively, the user may put on a seat harness before accessing the exerciser, moving forward as previously described and attaching hooks on the seat harness to the belly bar.
In an alternative embodiment, the seat harness may be attached to an overhead crane or rail with a sliding fitting so that the user may be elevated in a vertical stance, moved into position and lowered into the exerciser until his foot makes contact with the foot plates and/or fittings mounted to leg braces the user has strapped on each leg make contact with pivot grooves attached to the foot plates.
In an alternate embodiment, the leg braces worn by the user to improve lower limb rigidity, may be pivotably attached or attachable to the foot plates so that the user may either put on the leg braces, mount the foot plates and then attach the braces to the foot plates or move his legs into the open braces already attached to the foot plates, strap them around his legs and then grasp the hand rails move forward into position and begin exercising.
In another embodiment, the poles impelled by arm motion may be mounted with a variable pivot whereby the user may choose to trade mechanical advantage for arm movement and lesser overall movement of the footplates with lesser mechanical advantage and correspondingly greater movement of the feet and legs as driven by arm movement. This is accomplished by varying the height of the pivot around which each driving pole rotates. As the pivot is moved up, the portion of the pole above the pivot shortens so that arms and shoulders must exert more force to achieve the same torque. Concomitantly, the portion of the pole below the pivot is elongated thus driving the feet and legs in a greater arc.
The exerciser may optionally feature monitoring means for measuring and recording parameters such as number of repetitions, rate of work performed, amount of work performed and/or user's heart rate.
An alternative embodiment of the exerciser may include a motor drive with variable speed and intermittent features to provide movement and stimulate muscles and circulation for those without sufficient arm strength to propel the motion of the device. The motor drive may be engaged at variable speeds to power the whole movement cycle or employed to provide impulses at the end of a cycle.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a rehabilitation exercise machine which allows a person to be in a standing position while getting a full body workout. While using the rehabilitation exerciser of the present invention, a person, such as a paraplegic individual with leg braces, can utilize his shoulders and arms to gain strength and muscle tone. Most importantly, while standing, the legs are moving back and forth putting them into an important walking motion. The exerciser of the present invention therefore benefits the total body by providing a cardiovascular workout, stretching leg muscles, and improving the circulation throughout the entire body.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a rehabilitation exerciser which is versatile enough that anyone can use it for the purposes of exercising. It can be used in a hospital or home environment for regaining muscle control and walking ability by patients recovering from a stroke, hip replacement, or multiple sclerosis. Therefore, the exercise machine of the present invention offers use as a general rehabilitation tool as well as a full body workout for a person with a permanent walking impairment.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a rehabilitation exercise machine which is a very beneficial device for persons with walking or standing disabilities in that it enables such a person independent use and total body movement which is currently not believed available with any other piece of equipment.
On information and belief, because the cross country ski exercise machines described in the patents above do not provide vertical support or stability for a user, there remains a need for an exercise machine for convalescing and handicapped persons that can be used while in the standing position. Therefore, it is another object of the present invention to provide a rehabilitation exercise machine which can be accessed by a person from a wheelchair and yet be used from a standing position because of the vertical support and/or stability provided for a user by ski poles which are themselves supported in a vertical position. A further object of the invention is to provide passive motion for the user's legs, which is derived from force exerted by the user's upper body.